House bills punish BP, boost drilling safety

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation that could bar BP from getting new offshore oil leases in the United States passed another hurdle in Congress on Thursday while a separate bill to boost safety requirements for offshore drilling advanced through another congressional panel.

The legislation is among several dozen bills pending that would rewrite the regulatory rulebook and raise exploration costs for oil companies as lawmakers try to prevent another disaster like BP's massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico

The bills have a long way to go if they are ever to make into law. The full House of Representatives and Senate would have to vote on the measures before they could be sent to the White House. Some analysts and government officials worry that if the U.S. Congress is too harsh on BP it could hamper the company's ability to pay the huge bill for the spill's cleanup.

The treatment of the British energy giant in the United States could be a topic of contention when British Prime Minister David Cameron meets President Barack Obama at the White House next week.

The House Natural Resources Committee approved a bill Thursday morning, after debate that began on Wednesday, that would bar BP and other companies with poor safety records from getting new offshore oil leases.

The bill does not mention BP by name but it would prevent from getting leases or permits any company that had more than 10 deaths at its operations due to federal law violations within the last seven years.

Eleven workers were killed on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig leased by BP that exploded in April, causing the gusher the company is still trying to bring under control.

A company would also be denied a lease or drilling permit if it had racked up more than $10 million in fines for violating federal environmental laws during the preceding seven years.

The American Petroleum Institute, the main lobby for big oil companies, said the bill would discourage domestic oil and gas production, kill good-paying jobs and punish the Gulf Coast economy that is already suffering because of the spill.

But the Earthworks green group praised the legislation, saying "we can no long rely on a 'trust us' mentality from the oil and gas companies."

The second bill, which was cleared by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would improve the safety requirements for offshore oil drilling and ensure exploration companies have the equipment in place to prevent and quickly contain any spills.

The legislation would not allow an oil company to get a drilling permit unless the company can prove it has a workable blowout preventer and other control equipment, as well as an adequate response plan to deal with any oil leak.

An oil company would also have to show it has the ability to "promptly" begin drilling a relief well after a blowout occurs and that it could complete the relief well "expeditiously." To win more support, the sponsors of the legislation took out original language requiring a company to start drilling a relief well within 15 days of a blowout and finish it within 90 days.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Frances Kerry)